


Multicolored Mobius Strip

by Dodo



Category: His Dark Materials (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Confused Steve Rogers, Daemon Touching, Domestic Avengers, Fluff, Getting Together, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Verbal Abuse, Whump, an attempt at daemon harming, daemon bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21675733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dodo/pseuds/Dodo
Summary: Tony’s daemon breaks a lot of rules, so many, and yet without them Tony would be lost. He struggles to find a place where they can be whole without preconceived notions and judgments from others.ORTony's daemon breaks all the rules to get Tony the best family possible
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 73
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2019





	Multicolored Mobius Strip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lacerta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacerta/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Lacerta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacerta/pseuds/Lacerta) in the [stony_stocking_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2019) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Discord handle:  
> > Jess
> 
> Short prompts:  
> > (accidental) daemon touching  
>  **filled this and maybe some of the other stuff?**  
>  > getting together  
> > misunderstandings
> 
> Long prompts:  
> > Steve is baffled by Tony's daemon, who breaks all the conventions from the 30s - talks to Steve themself, for starters. What he doesn't know, however, is that this part baffles Tony, too.  
> > When Steve meets Tony Stark, the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, for the first time, he's surprised by the form his daemon settled in, and the mystery draws Steve in. As he gets to know the man - the real Tony Stark - he begins to understand. And as he understands more, he accidentally acquires some unexpected feelings, which is bad, because it doesn't look like Tony feels the same way.  
> > When Tony's daemon finally settled, it was nothing like Captain America's, to Howard's great disappointment. Years later, when Tony meets Steve Rogers, he tries to hate him, he really does, but Steve's daemon's fur/feathers are just too stunning and Tony's itching to touch them. Scout's honour, it's the only reason Tony wants to get closer to the man. (Tony was never a scout.) //Bonus: Tony learns the real meaning and the value of his settled form along the way.
> 
> Do not wants:  
> Sexual content is fine, as long as it's not a central part of the story. No explicit torture, but dealing with the results is fine.
> 
> Additional:  
> I will love any daemon!AU, not just the prompted ones, any headcanons for the characters' settled forms are valid and awesome. Identity porn is appreciated. Anything resembling a slow-burn is a turn on.

When Tony had been a child his daemon shifted so radically, he’d wanted something as elegant as his mom’s snake, or as strong as his father’s boar. He had tried out a snake and a boar but found it unsatisfactory, for a while he entertained a dog. Trying his best to emulate Jarvis’ prim and proper scotty, nothing really worked.

His father or rather Howard at this point had harshly criticized any form his daemon took on, it was either he was copying someone, or he just didn’t meet the standard that Howard had wanted for him. Howard had pushed for Tony to have a daemon like Captain America, a white hare something bold and clever.  
“To make you a real man worthy of the Stark name.”

For a while with the amount of stress and indecision on Tony’s part his daemon had taken on a non euclidean shape that shimmered like the rainbow, twisting in on itself. It stayed like that for a while, he’d had an interview with it. Howard had been mightily displeased that his son couldn’t even manage an animal. Normally his father would just slather on the verbal abuse, until Maria or Jarvis interviene; this time though Howard had lunged at the multicolored mobius with a letter opener, with intent to hurt Tony.

Tony doesn’t really recall the rest of that, probably for the best. He recalls a snake attacking a boar and a shape of a dog standing over him. After that Howard had been distant, probably for the best. His Klein, the mobius stayed like that for a long while. Maria would praise it's colors but he could tell she was worried about the daemon. Jarvis had complimented and on one occasion likened it to one of those deep sea mantis shrimps.

Tony’s daemon for the longest while made him a bit of a social paraha, it was probably for the best as he went through school fast and none of the peers his age would ever catch up. In college he met Rhodey who was really nice to Tony, initially Tony had assumed it was for money or something, but eventually Rhodey’s constant companionship, and ernest charm won Tony over. The warm snuggly bear hugs, really helped too, Rhodey’s daemon a big grizzly had been frightening at first. 

Though when he learned that Rhodey’s daemon settled early, and was given the name Pooh. To make it better Rhodey’s family had gotten a bear sized red shirt. Tony giggled when Rhodey recounted that, Rhodey never asked Tony to return the favor. Klein was wary of everything, Rhodey had liken Klein to a night light, with a serious face that someone had to keep Tony safe.  
“Klein, I’ll help you. Pooh and I got you guys backs.”

Tony of course tried to hide his tears as he snuggled Klein, who pulsed some golden yellows. Rhodey was his first friend, and now he was like family. Then Rhodey was his family when his parents died, he was torn losing his mom, who’d slowly became distant from him, had been a hard blow he’d assumed he would be able to mend that bridge once out of school and now he couldn’t. Shortly after his parents Tony lost his real parent, Jarvis.

While his parents had been sort of a cold loss, and he wasn’t able to really process should I cry? With Jarvis he cried left a huge snot stain on Rhodey’s shoulder. He felt terrible, Rhodey had to basically drag him back to the dorm. That night Klein settled into a new form. The peacock mantis shrimp settled neatly on Tony’s pillow, still emitting soft glowing light as it's antenna danced over Tony’s cheek.

Tony did his best to hide Klein’s form from the press, even going so far to replicate the glowing mobius strip. People didn’t know what to do with non animal daemon, he felt he had to protect Klein, for surely his father would have thought the garish shrimp useless.

He should have known about Obie, the man’s daemon was a weasel. Klein chittered softly to him in the caves, with Yinsen's daemon a fruit bat as the man worked on salvaging Tony’s heart. Focusing on the tiny legs tugging at his hair the best he could. They escaped without Yinsen, Klein tucked safe around the arc reactor in the armor. Pinching Tony to go on, now was not the time to wallow.  
-  
There never seemed like a good time to wallow, now with the avengers, with iron man, or as Klein calls it iron shrimp. Now he had a team to provide for, now people expected him to participate in bonding. He opted to use the stand in Klein, the real shrimp could wander great distances without Tony being in any pain probably due to the arc reactor.

As expected the team is unsure what to make of Tony’s false daemon. Clint’s Chicken hawk doesn’t like it at all and Nat’s tiny little jumping spider is hard to see or account for. Steve’s hare is a nice shade of brown with a bit of white on the belly and sprawled out in a sunbeam. Tony feels a bit cheated, the great white hare, is brown and napping at 10 am.

The feet though look very soft and Tony has a strong desire to touch them. He doesn’t though it would be impolite at best. Tony was very good with not touching the team’s daemons and he kept away from them mostly, he felt like he didn’t belong. Or maybe he didn’t fully trust them didn’t matter he hid in his workshop with his bots mostly working on new armors.  
-  
Steve found the library in the tower to be relaxing Sarea found the crack of dawn runs to be relaxing and she would kick him awake to do them. Steve wasn’t really a morning person but Sarea was, though right now she’d hopped over to the plush chair in the sun and was dosing as Steve checked out the place. There were quite a few knick knacks on shelves there was one with sea themed, he could see 100 leagues under the sea and moby dick on the shelf and what he assumed were other sea novels.

The delicate glass coral, and little sea anemones, it seemed very delicate and nothing he would have thought Tony to have. His eyes focused on a very colorful looking glass shrimp fingers outstretched as he pressed his pads into the cool glass, except it wasn’t glass, there was a pop and a very sharp pain in his fingers. Steve pulled his hand back abruptly finger bent oddly and the shrimp scuttled back. 

Steve shivered, his hairs on his arms stood up, Sarea’s ears were attentive as he nose wiggled. The Shrimp was missing from the display, looking up he saw it sliding into an air vent while waving it's claws in a threatening manner.  
“What was that?”  
Steve asked he had his suspicions, but still recovering from the sharp bitter shivers and the dull throbbing in his broken finger.  
“A daemon, but whose? And where is the person?”  
Sarea was a smart hare, her fore paws on Steve’s leg wordlessly demanding to look at the wound.  
-  
Down in the workshop Tony had been fixing up Dum-e’s mess and cleaning the bots’ version of his daemon, the plush r2-d2 was dirty with the slurry of stuff dum-e had placed into the blender. The bot had beeped forlornly when he’d realized he gotten r2 dirty whilst nudging tony with his claw. So Tony gave in and cleaned up the plush and reattaching it when a sudden cold took over his body.

Shivering, reminding him of the time when Howard had come at his daemon with a letter opener the cold empty. He shook his head and tried to regain control of his body.  
“Jarvis?”  
“Sir, it appears that Captain Rogers has touched Klein, they were in the coral sea display again.”  
“Are they?”  
Okay?

“I am fine, Gave him a punch. Rude Captain.”  
Klein crawled out of the vent looking a bit dusty but there didn’t seem to be any damage. The shrimp settled on Dum-e arm.  
“Oh R2 is dirty again? Just give him fake Klein.”  
The shrimp floated to Tony and nested in his hair,  
“I can’t the team.”  
“They know fake klein is not a daemon, they think you lost yours with the arc reactor.”

“oh...That would make sense.”  
Tony finished fixing R2 to Dum-e and sat back, Klein was picking at his scalp gently and it felt really good. He now had context as to why the avenger were trying to invite him to every gathering it was pity.  
“Psssh, no. They want you to be part of the family. You should be selfish, you need a more. Let them in.”  
Tony leaned back letting Klein talk about taking the avengers on as his family. Rhodey and Pooh, Pepper and Ayer were his tiny family but according to Klein, Bruce could be family too, Clint and Natasha. Klein had a soft spot for Natasha, he could tell it was probably because the daemon was another arthropod.  
-  
Steve’s finger was healed thanks to Sarea’s resetting and the super serum. He still got up super early for a run, thinking about the mantis shrimp in the library he checked around there for it but no sign that it had ever been there. So he made himself some cereal, turning to get some juice from the fridge he heard a splash. In his cereal sat the shrimp looking out of place in the bland cereal.

Steve stared at it with the juice in hand, watching the thing sample his food and then spit it out.  
“Nasty, unfit why eat this?”  
“I uhhh?”  
Why was the shrimp talking to him? Steve placed the juice down looking up at the ceiling hoping for some help.  
“Jarvis won’t help you he agrees with me,”  
“That cereal is gross?”  
Steve asks hesitantly.

“A previous agreement that you have no privy too.”  
Steve looked over at Sarea hoping for help but she was pretty much asleep in a sunbeam the usual after a big run and meal. However he did notice her ears were cocked towards them, so she was probably listening in.  
“I’m sorry I touched you, I didn’t think you were a daemon.”  
“I relished punching you.”  
“I uhhh?”  
Steve was at a loss here.

“I digress, please help yourself to the eggs and food. We provide for you. You don’t need to eat this.”  
Steve nodded, in the corner of his eye he saw Sarea sit up she had been asking about some of the vegetables. Eager to try all the things now that they’d been more readily available.  
“Thanks?”  
“Oh and we like it when you wear those tight shirts.”

The shrimp daemon eased out of the cereal, using Stebe’s napkin like a towel and then skittered off with amazing speed. Steve watched it go staring at the door it had left through for a bit and then turned to Sarea who was sitting on the stool next to him for legs on the table looking very happy.  
“One blueberry pancake please!”  
-  
Klein was seen around the common room a bit more after the cereal incident, often times riding around on Sarea. Steve had inquired about it of course but it seemed the offer of fresh food and Klein’s prodding to utilize the resources had won Sarea over. Steve would see them curled up in the sunlight, often times with the rest of the team’s daemons.

Tony was also around a bit more the rainbow mobius strip was missing instead Klein was riding around on Tony’s head like a multicolored crown. The team really didn’t mention the sudden change and with that things seemed to fit together better.

One morning Tony appeared looking tired and sat down with a single cup of coffee, Klein came in on Sarea’s back and they settled down in a chair between Tony and Steve.  
“So Klein is your daemon?”  
“Yep, fantastic right?”  
“Uh yeah, did you tell her to talk to me about the food?”  
“Her?”

Tony squinted at Steve and then looked at his coffee.  
“I am fantastic and a shrimp.”  
Klein spoke up from their single blueberry that they were meticulously shredding into strips to eat.  
“Ah Klein that’s kinda rude,”  
“He’s rude it's fine.”  
Tony snorted into his coffee and raised it with a mocking toast to Steve.  
“We never follow the rules anyways.”  
Klein spoke to Steve yet again with Tony watching bemused Sarea didn’t even grace tony with a good morning but the soft brown hair was practically leaning on his leg and he was being so good not to touch her.

“I can see that,”  
Steve offered a plate of blueberry pancakes to Tony, who accepted them and then had one stolen by Sarea.  
“Klein is non binary, they are no gender”  
“Ah sorry about that, Klein.”  
They ate in comparable silence, no mention about the fact that Klein and Sarea were touching. It felt really good and Tony was loath to bring it up, and Steve wasn’t sure if it was a new custom but he liked it a lot. Settled the unease in his gut about the new century.  
-  
The tipping point happened when Tony had a nightmare and Klein had rushed off, in the few minutes after the daemon’s abrupt departure. Tony still very much submerged in his nightmare was woken up by warm hands combing his hair, Steve was there with Sarea, Klein was curled up on the arc reactor, tapping out a soothing rhythm. Tony gasped out a choked and muffled sob, and Steve merely rubbed his back and helped him sit up.

When Steve had attempted to leave, Tony had held on like a limpet. Unwilling to let go, finally deciding to be selfish like Klein had told him to be.  
“Please stay?”  
“Okay, move over some?”  
They settled under the sheet with Klein snuggling deep into Sarea’s fur and Steve holding Tony close. This was good this was part of Tony’s family, he sighed as he tucked his head under Steve’s and drifted.

**Author's Note:**

> This was really fun and if anyone wants to continue this please have at it.


End file.
